Columbus Crew at Minnesota United

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Allianz Field

Stream: Apple TV Season Pass

Radio: KSTP-AM 1500 ESPN

Weather: 54 degrees, party cloudy, 11 mph northwest wind

Betting odds: MNUFC plus-180; draw plus-260; Columbus plus-130

Series history: The Loons are 1-3-0 against Columbus in MLS play; the lone win coming in St. Paul in 2019. The two clubs haven’t played in MLS since 2020, but MNUFC topped the Crew in penalty kicks in the Leagues Cup round of 32 last season.

Synopsis: The reigning MLS Cup champion Crew kick off a difficult stretch for MNUFC, with four matches against the league’s best clubs. The Loons go to Orlando City next week, host LAFC March 9 and travel to Philadelphia Union on March 30. New permanent head coach Eric Ramsay is working toward his work visa and is expected to arrive as soon as possible in March.

Form: Both teams won their season openers. Columbus topped Atlanta United 1-0 at home and Minnesota beat Austin FC 2-1 on the road. But MNUFC has won only one of seven home openers (1-3-3), dropping points in all five debuts at Allianz Field.

RELATED: Check out Allianz Field’s new food items, with tips from the chef

Projected XI: In a 4-3-3 formation, LW Caden Clark, CF Teemu Pukki, RW Sang Bin Jeong; CM Hassani Dotson, CM Alejandro Bran, CM Wil Trapp; LB Joseph Rosales, CB Micky Tapias, CB Michael Boxall, RB DJ Taylor; GK Dayne St. Clair.

Absences: Key attackers Emanuel Reynoso (left knee) and Bongi Hlongwane (fitness), Robin Lod (calf) and Franco Fragapane (calf) are all expected to be out. Kervin Arriaga (right knee) is likely to be questionable. The clubs have yet to share the official availability reports as of Friday morning.

Homecoming: Medina native Caden Clark came home to MNUFC in the offseason and contributed to the winning goal in Texas. On Saturday, Clark might make his first start for the Loons and will have approximately 40-45 family and friends to watch him live. ‘It’s going to be a special day for me,” Clark said. “… Probably be a little emotional.”

Homecoming (Part II): Former MNUFC striker Christian Ramirez, who scored 74 goals in a Loons short from 2014-18, returns to play in Minnesota for the first time. If “Superman” scores for Columbus, he vowed to not celebrate in front of fans he still holds dear.

Scouting report: The Loons new high-pressing tactic overwhelmed Austin in the first half, but won’t have the same affect on been-there, done-that Columbus. Especially not with MLS legend Darlington Nagbe patrolling the middle of the park.

Connection: After scoring his first MLS goal at Austin, Bran said he talked to fellow Costa Rican teammate and ex-Loons captain Francisco Calvo before coming to Minnesota on a one-year loan. On Tuesday, Bran relayed Calvo’s message: “That I was going to like it a lot. The city was really beautiful, the fanbase, the stadium.” Calvo left on sour terms when he was traded to Chicago in 2019, but he still vouched for MNUFC.

Key stat: 21. Loons’ point total at home in 2023 — the worst production across a full slate since joining MLS. They managed 25 in their dismal expansion season of 2017.

Prediction: After making a great first impression against Austin, Saturday will be a reality check for MNUFC. The shorthanded Loons lack offensive quality, while Crew forward “Cucho” Hernandez’s deadly right foot looms large. Crew coast to 2-0 victory.

The quarterback conversation will dominate chatter for the Chicago Bears leading up to the NFL draft in three months, and that ought to be a major focus this week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Even though top prospects such as USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy are not in the game, it will be a chance to get a close look at Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix.

Add Tulane’s Michael Pratt, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler and Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman — who aren’t candidates to be the No. 1 pick — and it would be an intriguing bunch of passers in any draft cycle.

The Bears will be able to see Penix and Nix up close four weeks before the scouting combine, and general manager Ryan Poles likely has a detailed plan to vet all options.

Penix threw for 9,504 yards over the last two seasons at Washington, and teams will have plenty of questions about knee and shoulder injuries that interrupted his first four years at Indiana. Nix also thrived after transferring, passing for 8,101 yards and 74 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions at Oregon the last two years after three up-and-down seasons at Auburn.

The Bears drafted four players who participated in the Senior Bowl last year, all in the first four rounds: right tackle Darnell Wright (first round, 10th pick), cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (second round), defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (third) and running back Roschon Johnson (fourth). They also signed undrafted quarterback Tyson Bagent, who improved his stock with a week in Mobile.

The Senior Bowl was loaded with talent last year, when 36 of the first 100 draft picks participated in the game. Overall, 100 players who were in Mobile were drafted, accounting for 39% of all selections.

While it’s unlikely the first pick in this year’s draft will be in Mobile, you can’t rule out the possibility the ninth pick — which the Bears also own — will be on display.

UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu is one of the highest-regarded prospects committed to the Senior Bowl. Latu had 23 1/2 sacks over the last two seasons for the Bruins, and NFL teams will have a chance to see him perform in practice and the game.

They will have a lot of medical questions for Latu that will require due diligence at the combine, as he briefly retired from football with a neck injury after beginning his college career at Washington. Latu proved to be durable at UCLA, though, and for teams comfortable with his health, he could emerge as the top edge rusher in the draft.

That’s certainly a position the Bears need to figure out as they seek a presence opposite Montez Sweat. It’s not a great draft for pass rushers overall, but Alabama’s Chris Braswell, coming off a 10 1/2-sack season, is regarded as a potential Day 2 pick and is playing in the Senior Bowl.

Center figures to be a primary need for the Bears, and there’s an interesting crop of hopefuls. Before we dive into the names, it’s worth wondering what philosophy the Bears will take. If they plan on drafting a quarterback, would they hesitate to have a rookie snapping the ball? Given the option, a lot of teams would prefer a veteran center to aid a rookie quarterback with pre-snap reads and calls.

But if Poles and the coaching staff believe there’s a savvy prospect who can be an asset to a young quarterback — assuming the Bears draft one — perhaps they like the idea of more youth on the line.

In that case, West Virginia’s Zach Frazier, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and Duke’s Graham Barton — a left tackle in college who is expected to play center this week — are interesting possibilities. Add Georgia’s Sedrick Van Pran and Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini, and there’s no shortage of options.

Top wide receivers rarely head to Mobile, and you won’t see any of the elite prospects such as Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze. But it’s not only a top-heavy wide receiver class; there’s also tremendous depth. And that’s where players such as South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, North Carolina’s Tez Walker, Arizona’s Jacob Cowing, Louisville’s Jamari Thrash and Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley come into play.

The Bears, for the first time in a while, have the No. 1 receiver spot figured out with DJ Moore. With Darnell Mooney coming out of contract, they don’t have a No. 2 and could use some competition for Tyler Scott, who just completed his rookie season. Considering the wealth of options, the draft would seem to make more sense than a splurge in free agency, where proven options will be available.

Free safety looms as a question on defense, and Miami’s Kamren Kinchens will be in the spotlight as a potential late first-round pick. He made 11 interceptions the last two seasons for the Hurricanes, and while there are questions about his consistency, few draft options possess the kind of range he has.

Teams are always seeking talent for the defensive line, and Texas’ Byron Murphy is an undersized player (6-foot-1, 297 pounds) who could be a nice fit for the Bears as a disruptive interior player. He had 15 sacks in three seasons for the Longhorns with 8 1/2 this past season.

It might be more of a want than a need — and the Bears were pleased with the development of 2023 second-round pick Gervon Dexter — but there’s no such thing as too many quality defensive linemen.

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The Minnesota Department of Health has rejected a proposal from a Texas-based, for-profit chain of rehabilitation hospitals interested in opening a 60-bed facility in Roseville.

Backed by private equity investors, Nobis Rehabilitation Partners has opened 20 facilities in 12 states since 2021 alone, an “aggressive growth” strategy that gave MDH pause, according to a written announcement from the department.

Rather than expand the marketplace, a freestanding, $43 million rehab center could “have a negative financial and workforce impact on existing facilities” while reducing services for those in need, according to MDH, which cited “a lack of explicit commitments in the project proposal for providing care to low-income and nonpaying patients.”

Restrictions on new hospitals

Unless a proposal meets defined statutory exceptions, state law prohibits the construction of new hospitals or the expansion of bed capacity at existing hospitals without specific authorization from the Legislature. Nobis submitted a letter of intent to MDH last year and its application was deemed ready for review in September.

“As Minnesota is facing high and rising health care costs, it is important we ensure that any proposal truly is in the best interest of all Minnesotans. By law, there is a high bar to clear,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham, in the department’s written announcement on Thursday. “Our analysis indicates that this project does not meet that burden and, therefore, MDH is unable to recommend that it is in the public interest.”

Officials with Allina Health, North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale, Hennepin Healthcare and the Minnesota Nurses Association wrote letters of concern to MDH, as did a series of physicians objecting to a for-profit hospital chain potentially poaching patients and workers and making it harder for existing rehab centers to offer care.

“By introducing an out-of-state, for-profit provider to the state’s market, the state could potentially see disruptions throughout the rehabilitative care continuum,” wrote Brian LeLoup, vice president of Allina Health’s Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute.

“The focus of our challenges is less about the number of inpatient rehabilitation beds and more about staff capacity to take care of the patients in those beds,” wrote Keith Wilton, executive director of Rehabilitation Services for Hennepin Healthcare.

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The Minnesota Supreme Court has disbarred a St. Paul attorney accused of mishandling client funds and pocketing at least $18,000 in settlement money won by three Hmong clients who spoke limited English.

Fong E. Lee had been disciplined three times since being admitted to practice law in Minnesota in 2007, each one related to his trust accounts and fee arrangements with clients.

In the latest instances, a legal referee found that Lee misappropriated more than $18,000 from three clients, failed to return unearned fees, failed to maintain the required trust account books, failed to communicate with clients and failed to cooperate with the investigation led by the director of the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.

The office named five clients who had been harmed by his behavior, including a client who had a lien placed on her home, and another who struggled to pay for basic living expenses.

Lee filed an answer denying all misconduct, but did not show up for oral arguments to contest the accusations. The referee found no mitigating circumstances for his behavior and recommended disbarment, according to the court opinion.

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